01 TRY TAKING KETONES?
Ketones continue to flirt with road cycling thanks to the likes of Jumbo-Visma reportedly using them at the Tour de France. Then again, any team who’s signed up to the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC), which includes Lotto-Soudal, Team DSM and EF Education Easy-Post, is prohibited from using them due to their side-effects, including vomiting and stomach distress, and uncertainty over any longterm effects. But what are they? They’re chemicals produced naturally by your body when it’s run out of carbs for fuel and switches to breaking down fat. They’re not banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) so you, the recreational cyclist, can doff a cupful to your heart’s content – though you might not want to as their taste is, shall we say, ‘unique’. But would you want to anyway? The answer’s equivocal.
“The rationale is the same as when I researched medium-chain triglycerides,” explains Professor Asker Jeukendrup, who works with Jumbo-Visma. “The MCTs are partly converted to ketone bodies, especially beta hydroxybutyrate, and this is a good substrate for the muscle. We demonstrated that MCTs were rapidly used and could be a good alternative fuel. However, it’s pointless even thinking
